Why no punishment for party attendees?

VIANNA McKenzie-Bramble was fined £12,000 for having a birthday party complete with bouncy castle on April 17, 2021, with 40 invited.

This was just a day after two gatherings in Downing Street.

She was told by the police that she needed to face the consequences of her actions, namely organising a party, when the risk of infection was still a significant risk to public health.

She was one of thousands of people who received fines during lockdown.

Since May 2020, 1,189,632 fixed penalty notices have been issued by the police. Fines have been issued with the young being the hardest hit.

Men were more likely to be fined, accounting for 70% of the total. Research found that people of colour were 54% more likely to be fined than white people.

Northumbria Police gave out the most fines per 100,000 people living in the local area between March 2020 and January 2021.

The police watchdog had warned. Early on, there was widespread confusion over Covid restriction rules.

The police have been accused of heavy-handedness with tactics, such as following walkers with drones and challenging shoppers over the contents of their shopping baskets. Even a carer on her break was fined £200 for eating a sandwich in her car.

Meanwhile, in Downing Street, the Covid restrictions were being flouted. Wine-time Fridays, ‘bring your own booze’ events and drink fridges being delivered to the back door. The Metropolitan Police were strangely uninterested in the political elite. Clearly, citizens above suspicion!

There certainly seems to be one rule for them and another for us. Maybe there should be an amnesty on fines and they should be reduced or written off?

COUN CATH Davis, Preston Ward, North Tyneside Council